Four Things Canada Does Better Than the USA

 After 15 months living in Canada, I finally have my opinion on some of what Canada has going for itself compared to my former homeland directly South and Northwest. Here is the definitive list of what is better in Canada:

1. Health Care Payment System

    Face it: the US health care payment system makes little to no sense. You might be billed $100 for a dose of Advil. We had two births there costing over $10,000. Also, that was after insurance. The US is not the place to get a long-term health condition. It will bankrupt most middle-class earners.

    Canada's system is much simpler: taxes cover the costs and you must be a resident paying taxes to gain access to the single-payer system. No, contrary to what you hear you cannot show up from the US, go to the ER and not pay. You will be billed. It will cost a lot. So this aspect is better, especially for the middle-class and lower class.

2. Winter Activities

    I grew up in a place which experiences winter, but the past 10 years seems to have made the region think it is in Florida and not Pennsylvania. Snow of a few inches: cancel school. Temps below 20 F: cancel school. Canada is not cancelling school unless the heating goes out. Also, if you work you are still expected to go no matter the temperature. Life goes on even if it's cold.

3. National Sales Tax

    Canadian citizens seem to hate taxes as much as US citizens, but then the no payment health care makes it bearable. But the fact is there is a national sales tax in Canada, so everyone at some point will pay it. You cannot get out of it, which is the fairest version of taxes. Granted there are citizens who most likely pay more than others and who get more benefits than they pay into the system. But they cannot get out of a consumption tax.

4. Pro-Family Policies

    If you have children in the US, someone is usually quitting to take care of them or you are spending a second mortgage on child care. If you are lucky, you will have grandparents to help. Canada allows for 1 year parental leave and generous subsidies for children in the form of cash payments on a monthly basis. It can be a real help for time and money.

Why None of my best friends are Women...unless it's my future wife

My best friends are always there for me. They are there when my grandma dies.  They are there when my car is in the shop and I need a ride.  We go on vacation together and eat meals which consist of meat and dessert.  They are there when I had a break-up.  They pick me up when I'm down.  They celebrate with me when we have successes.  I would do everything in my power to help them if they ever needed it.

My best friends are loyal, courageous, a bit crazy and never a dull moment.  But there is something my best friends will never be: women.

I am not saying quit talking to everyone of the opposite sex you are not related.  No, in today's world, you are going to always have to interact with someone of the opposite sex who is not your spouse, sibling, parent or child.

I am saying step back and take a look at your relationships and ask a few questions the next time you are with the opposite sex.

1. Would I want my spouse having this conversation with the opposite sex?
I am a terrible judge of women's fashion and trends.  I don't get it.  I probably never will.  So, yes, I'm going to ask a woman for her opinion on buying jewelry or some other gift.  I'm also going to ask for advice from my mom if I get into an argument with my significant other.

But if I'm having a relationship issue, I'm keeping that to people of the same sex.

One is just so my significant other does not get opened up to gossip and the rumors among friends (and guys talk about other people's relationships, too).

The other is I would never want my significant other to be talking about our problems with one of my friends.  He then is put in the awkward situation of taking sides (terrible idea) or giving advice which he might use to exploit, and not help.

Women also prefer the emotional connection deep conversations offer.  By sharing deeply with them in a personal setting, they also may become vulnerable to feelings.   Keep it to your own gender.  If you need more advice and want perspective from both sexes, then approach a married couple older than you.  They are going to offer more insight than your single, opposite sex friend anyway.

2. Am I asking the opposite sex because I've lost trust in my own gender?
Have you ever heard a woman say this:
"Women are just too much drama.  I prefer talking with guys."
Guys, have you ever thought this:
"Well, my bro's don't want to hear about my problems, and I don't want to come off weak."

Why are you saying these things?  Is it because the past, someone you thought you trusted did not follow through with their end of the bargain, shared with others your problems and it lead to more problems?

People do get burned.  It does hurt.  But are you then reaching out to the opposite sex because you do not want to get hurt?  Reach out.  Try to repair.  It might feel like baby steps.  But in the future, you will be helping your future marriage (see previous question if you need to know why).

3. Have I ever had a romantic attraction to this friend? Have they?  Do I know?
I remember in university I had a couple of friends who were women and I never thought nothing of it.  But then at one point, a woman who I only ever thought of as a friend came and told me she liked me. 

Well, everything after that was just peachy.

No actually it wasn't.  It was painfully awkward, and she eventually ended up not being my friend anymore. 

I thought I was just being nice.  But I think she saw me being a nice guy as something more.  Ladies, I'm sure you have had something like this happen before.  It's the whole "mixed signals" issue. 

The way you can avoid "mixed signals" is just not to have to send signals.

I hope you don't view all your relationships with the opposite sex as scary, now.  No, on the contrary they should be as Scriptures put it:

"Do not rebuke an older man, but appeal to him as a father.  Treat younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters with complete purity."

1 Timothy 5:1-2

But, don't treat your future spouse like your sibling.  That would just be weird.  They're your spouse!

What to Do When No One Notices

I think there is something in the human soul that needs to fulfill a deep longing.  It's the idea we want to make a difference.  It is something small, maybe.  But it is something that people need.  People need people to care, and notice.

Take for instance this blog post.  It will probably be read by one or two actual people.  The rest will be bots, who will try their best to get me to use their service so that this blog will get more page views.  Look, if I wanted pageviews, I'd be on Facebook, blast it to Twitter, and see if marketing would get me somewhere.  But my worth, and everyone's worth for that matter, is not in pageviews, likes, follows, retweets, subscribes or going viral.  It's in just being.

I came across a comment on a post I wrote nearly five years ago and realized it was still getting views.  Why?  Who cares?  What does it matter?  Why do people still look for the same article?

People are lost.  That's why.  People come to the Internet because there are answers.  Why do you think there are less arguments in bars?  People just google answers, that's why.  People are calling our the people who would talk a good game, and putting them in their place.

But there are some things which the Internet will never, ever fulfill.  If you read this post, do you get that?  No matter how much time you spend watching a video, you still aren't with the actual person.  I'm in my third long distance relationship.  I get what it means to be apart.  Skype and FaceTime are not the answer.  It's being in person with someone, device-free, with no distractions that actually means something.

Are you afraid of silence?  Are you afraid of actually having a conversation with a stranger.  It's just easier like and share.  That speaks, right?

No, it doesn't.  It doesn't get people anywhere.  It's not a real relationship.  My uncle and aunt are thousands of miles away.  Seeing their pictures is nice.  It allows me a temporary comfort to think I am a part of their lives.  I'm not.  My cousins couldn't pick me out of a line-up.  Me seeing their life temporarily doesn't do anything for them. They don't notice.

Do you notice?  Do you see the people around you?  Do you know you have a greater purpose beyond fame, fortune and pleasure? Do you know you were made for greater things?  You were made to have an impact!  Do you know you can?  It's not about notice, it's about purpose.

People do notice.  People will miss you when you are gone.  People want to know you as more than the video with the epic fail, the person who has a cool instagram page and even if you hit the big time and have your own show and have millions of followers, you still have more to offer.  And even when everyone notices, will it still be enough to satisfy?

Probably not. Ever.

Why Your Blog Failed

So the year was 2007. You received your shiny new Dell out of the box. You finally had WiFi built into your computer. The world was waiting for all your new thoughts. You were going to be the next great blogger. So you signed up on blogger.com. You were ready!

Fast forward six years. Your iPhone has the smallest keyboard that is able to also be functional. 140 characters is all the rage. Your old blog hasn't been seen in 4 years. The follower you do have is on a much cooler site now. And nothing happened. You were going to change the world. But instead, the world changed around you. My blog failed. Badly. Today was the first time I looked at it in years. It turns out it may get 5 visits a month. Usually it's to read my post about Facebook and how no one remembered my birthday once I was off of Facebook. Now, they might just see why blogs fail,and then read my post on Facebook.

Here's why I failed at my blog. Perhaps it will match one of your reasons:

1. No one else read it. So why would I keep writing. Let's face it, if no one gave us reinforcement of our actions, we would not do them. If most of America did not receive a paycheck, they are not showing up to work Monday because they love it. They show up because they need to function in society. No one cared, so neither did I.

 2. Posts were all over the place. The reason bigger blogs succeed is because they talk about one specific thing. I don't check out Down Goes Brown for news on soccer. If I want in depth Steeler news, it's not through thePensblog. No, I didn't specialize. So I had no audience. So, I had no visitors. So I stopped caring.

3. Everyone else stopped using blogger. Seriously. I know of no one else on this site. People moved on. So did I.

4. So no one will read this, either?!? Eh, I'm done.

Giving credit where it's due

The Iraq will be coming to a close. Read it.

Thank you military.

Good job with keeping a promise, President Obama.

Chivalry is not dead, but it's getting close

I've heard a lot of things about how the modern man needs to relearn how to serve the woman. I think there is something missing from our society and I think men do need to remember to serve women better as a whole than we probably do now.

But what happens when a man is not allowed to serve?

I witnessed this today as I was taking a trip to the airport. A woman with a very large piece of luggage had some difficulty getting on the shuttle. A man saw she was struggling, and offered a seat to the woman, who looked like she might need a seat. She refused, even after the guy stood up and pointed to the seat. So, he sat back down. He was just trying to be nice, but his kindness was rejected.

This is handcuffing for a man. Now, he might remember being rejected for his kindness. If I were him, I'd be hesitant to try and help again. If it ends in rejection, then what's the point?

The same goes for looking for a relationship, in my opinion. If I see a woman who is never going to ask for my help, I'm not going to ask her out. Why? Because if she does not want me or at least make me feel like I'm being helpful, then I'm not going to look at that and say, "oh there goes my future wife." I'm going to say, "there goes a woman who is on her own and could care less about me. There's a woman who does not need me."

Maybe the woman thought, "He thinks I'm old. I'll show him." Maybe she thought, "He thinks I'm weak. I'll show him." It could have been the thought, "He thinks I'm helpless. I'll show him." But the guy was probably thinking, "I'll serve this stranger and try to be kind."

I understand there is a spirit of independence among people, especially Americans. We can do it ourselves. But sometimes, it's being kind to just allow people to be kind to you.

I care by not caring

How much are we supposed to be caring?

To be honest, I am dreading the 2012 election. I'm a white, male, pro-business, pro-Capitalist, pro-life, pro-gun, pro-balanced budget, Christian.

I realized I probably offended you.

It might be time to show how much we care, by not caring.

We have to rank things on a scale of importance. Here is mine:

1. Sharing the Gospel (but this is my job, too)
2. How are my family and friends
3. If my car dies, how do I replace it?
4. I'd like to get married someday...
5. Why can't some of my friends get decent jobs?
6. If UCO Pittsburgh runs out of funding, what would I do?

Let's admit some things: our sphere of caring usually starts with our immediate lives. If people lose their job--which seems to happen more--they're not going to be worried about Middle East relations and our relationship with Mongolia as a country. Heck, they may even stop caring about recycling. When money was tight for me, I made $11 trading in aluminum cans to a scrapyard. Boy, it was not worth it.

Now, let me compare my cares with some of the cares I saw when I visited my relatives in the Philippines:

1. Will I work today?
2. Can we put food on the table today? What about tomorrow?
3. Will I make it if I get hurt in an accident?
4. Will I be able to afford to go to the hospital?
5. How can I get some better clothing? Something without holes?

So, maybe my resolution is to stop caring about the political news. As long as the government doesn't collapse, then today is probably going to be a pretty good day, all things considered. There is tragedy in our country. But tragedy is not having your parents still using AOL. It's not still having a regular TV. No, tragedy is not driving a 1990 Chrysler LeBaron, with the mirror taped to the door.

Marie Antoinette said, "Let them eat cake." The peasants of France were starving, and inside her royal lifestyle, she had no idea what was going on in the rest of the world. She just thought they didn't have enough vegetables and meat with their meal, and said they should just go straight to the cake.

With over 1 billion people living on a dollar a day (it might be more now that we inflated our money), it might be time to care more about simpler things. It also might be ok to not care about certain things.



**Note and correction: Marie Antoinette may have never said let them eat cake. Also, it would have been from a lack of bread, not meat and vegetables.

Finally?!?

Obama releases his birth certificate.

Big deal. Who cares. This was the dumbest argument ever. I was ashamed it happened in the first place. This is almost as dumb as when people said Bush caused the World Trade Centers to fall and the levies to break in New Orleans.

Thank God this is done. Sick of it. We have bigger things to worry about, like the fact we're spending ourselves into destruction.

Also, no one wants Donald Trump to be president. No one.

Finally, happy Easter!

Why Can't We be Friends?

Were we not supposed to move on to a better world? Wasn't there supposed to be healing for the nations?

Egypt was the #2 receiver of funding from the US. Now they are in turmoil.

Unrest in Iran, Libya, Tunisia, and Bahrain.

No government in Lebanon. No government in Belgium.

The world seems to be coming unhinged.

I thought we were supposed to be better liked.

We're not.

We're running out of options. The world is looking for leadership. It might run to the most functioning form of government, best economy and least amount of debt:

China.

What's next?

One Year Ago, the Truth Came Out

In 2009, a scandal broke out in Europe, which most Americans were ignorant. Emails from scientists revealed there was manipulation of data in climate change research, showing exaggerations of how severe things really were and the urgency to act now on global policy to stop global warming.

But, then the truth came out, and it turns out scientists were lying. Chairman of the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Rajendra Pachauri has come out and says he regrets the falsehood of saying there would be no more glaciers in the Himalayas by 2035. Read his full statement here.

Also from the Guardian, which by the way is a left-leaning newspaper in the UK, is an article about what has changed.

There still might be global warming, and no one is really pro-pollution and hoping we all die in the second great flood(which theologically couldn't happen, unless you don't trust the Bible...that's another blog post). But let's be honest, use all the facts, remember there is a lot of money and power involved in this topic on a global scale, and question with boldness. Putting our heads in the sand will not help anyone or anything. But neither does lying to prove what you are doing.

[Image from The Nothing Corporation]

Obama is out of touch...seriously out of touch

Well, the elections are over. No more really bad ads during football games, which probably unites us as a country more than politicians. I know people who would really like to just watch sports in peace, and not hear how candidate X wants to ship all the jobs America ever created to China or how the other candidate Y wants to give us Sharia law.

But after the House will have a swing of at least 61 seats for "the party of no," what does President Obama think the problem was which led to such a swing?

A lack of communication.

Seriously.

To quote a CBS News article found here, it says, "President Obama acknowledges what many have seen as his chief weakness – failing to sell the importance of several legislative milestones to the American people."

Maybe it was the fact people did NOT WANT what was passed? Did this thought even cross your mind? This is the arrogance people really hate. It's not the fact that Mr. Obama can't speak. I've found him to be a great speaker. It's never going to be his delivery which is a problem. It's the content of the speech I'm going to hate. Governor Bobby Jindal gave the response to President Obama's speech in 2009 after the state of the union address. It was painful to watch. He's probably not going to do anything on the national level of politics ever again. It made Mr. Obama look awesome. I don't like Mr. Obama, but he looked really good.

No, maybe it's the fact taxes are going to rise, along with my health insurance (which has already happened). Maybe it's the fact our economy is going to face massive amounts of inflation because we're not willing to sacrifice some programs. Maybe it's the fact our debt is out of control, and we're going to be Greece in a few years. It's not the lack of communication. President Bush didn't communicate well, but he understood he lost power and tried to change his agenda (which I didn't like). President Clinton understood in '94. President Obama doesn't.

It looks more and more like Mr. Obama is a rich man's Billy Mays, RIP. We know the products aren't all that great, and we liked the initial pitch. But now that we got them and see what they really are, we want our money back. But rather than have satisfied customers, they give us more stuff we don't want.

We're not dumb, and we do get it, Mr. Obama. We just don't want it.

The new third reich?

Here's an interesting little article out of bbc.com:

Germany is racist.

Ok, after reading it, you know they aren't really. They're just becoming more nationalist and want people to actually become German. So they want people to have an idea of being a citizen of a country. Wait just a second. Nationalism in Germany? Where have I seen this before? 1930s, anyone?

Ok, that was probably a big leap. I mean, just be cause German Chancellor Angela Merkel wants people to learn German doesn't me they are going to renew the reading of Mein Kanpf. But here's my bigger problem. Germany will get a free pass from being called racist or Nazis because they're in Europe. As we all know, people in Europe are far superior than here in the United States. They're more tolerant. They are better at being open-minded. They have better beer. Ok, I agree with the beer.

Yet, when the US tries to have talk of immigration reform, here's what we see:



Yes, the US is a group of Nazis because they want the same thing as Europe. People on the left we'll always say we need to be more progressive, like Europe. So I guess that means we get to finally have an official language, close our borders, and have real reform? No, probably not. But it does mean we can prove the hypocrisy.

Does anyone care to vote?

The glennbeck.com(a website) picture of the day had this posted. A little research shows this isn't exactly true. Federal Elections Commission (a government commission) shows the turnout for the 2008 election was 56.8%. But in 2006, the report says only 37.1%. Either way, it's not good. I have to wonder what the percentage of people watching American Idol or Dancing with the Stars votes. They might actually vote multiple times, but the percentage of their turn out would be ridiculous.

Probably like 300%.

Even the Iraq number is skewed. According to a Washington Post story in 2005, the turnout was really 63%.

So the sign is skewed in both directions, it seems.

But let's take the real numbers given and factor in some real life facts. In the United States, voters had to deal with the weather. They needed to go to some random building close to their neighborhood. They maybe even had to talk to a sweet woman older than my grandma handing out flyers. No wonder we haven't got at least 60% turnout since 1968! Probably too many people worried about their facebook status!

Iraqis had to go through security which makes our airports look unsafe, armed guards, and had to stick their fingers in ink so they couldn't vote twice.

It's obvious now what the US needs: cooler ways to vote. We need more guns at the polls. We need to feel like we might not make it. Give granny a Glock!

Maybe not.

At any rate, It's still dumb the "democracy" the world looks to as a beacon of freedom is actually only being ruled by less than 40% on non-presidential election years and under 60%. How can we be a democracy, when really we are only ruled by few?

Evangelism: meant to be awkward

Sharing the Gospel was supposed to be tough. Well, that's what I thought. But to me, it's often amazing how people react to the idea of religion. In the past three weeks, I have had the chance to ask people if they needed prayer and prayed with them on the street. I have debated a student who said a loving God would not think of us as superior to any other animal, and there is an afterlife for animals. There was also the hour-long conversation with a gay man about Jesus and Christianity. These were all situations which are supposed to be out of my element and what the world does not want.

But isn't it the Bible which tells us the opposite? Doesn't Christ bring the words of everlasting life? I have seen words pierce like a sword the hearts of children Jesus wants to call to meet him here on earth and join him one day in heaven. This is something powerful. This is something real.

So what is it that causes us to not want to evangelize, especially to complete strangers? I can see why we wouldn't want to talk to our family and friends. We don't want to make Thanksgiving awkward. We don't want them to think we hate them and shoving something down their throat. There's more at risk when bringing it up with people you'll see again. But I'd gladly take two hours of debate on the morals of voting than small chit chat about the Steelers or how bad construction is in the city. Please, give me something better.

In the end, someone's feelings might get hurt. There might need to be an apology. But so be it. Reconciliation brings people together. And Christ's message is worth the awkwardness which may linger at some point while your eating pumpkin pie.

Conflicted during church

Today at church, the Gospel reading was Luke 12:13-21. It's the classic parable about the rich man who is given so much abundance from his crops he decides to tear down his barns and build bigger ones so he can store it all. But he dies the next day. The point is not to spend so much time on earthy things but rather the things of the Lord, which is built on eternity.

The priest reminded us about ho much we possess and asked how much do we really need in our life. I thought it was a fine homily, and it is a good reminder to us, especially in the United States, that we can really do without certain earthly things and to live a simplistic lifestyle. I'm all for this. I still don't own a bed. Simplicity to me is a valuable trait which Christians should be willing to exercise as often as possible. Too much stuff distracts us from the Lord and relying on Him and his provision.

So we move into the creed and then to intercessions. Here's where it was a problem.

"Let's pray that wealth can be distributed evenly..."

I did not reply "Lord, hear our prayer."

I was not sure what to do at that point. My political convictions of conservative principles and small government told me this prayer was misguided and wrong. Governments should not redistribute the wealth. Ever. Charity should be based on the individual, not on someone telling you to do something. It ceases to be charity at that point. You should tithe your money and give even more out of your wealth. You should make the choice. It should be done because you are convicted to help, not because if you do not pay you get convicted for tax evasion.

But the Catholic side of me said the Church knows what it should be doing. They should be the agent of change. They should be on the front lines of helping the poor and living up to the teachings of Christ. But I would also say the church has to be aware the places where the Gospel is growing the most are places where there are many who are poor. Europe, with the exception of Poland, is becoming more and more godless as time progresses. It will only be a matter of time before Islam will be their top religion, with atheism probably somewhere in the top three (and yes, I know atheism is not a religion; it's just to illustrate the point). In Central and South America; Asia, especially China and South Korea; and Africa show the largest growth of Christianity. These are places where wealth is minimal.

Maybe I'm looking at it the wrong way. Maybe the goal is to make everyone poor so the proud will be humbled and the Gospel will flourish once again. But prayer requests for the redistribution of wealth should be left out of church. Prayers for an increase in charity and an emphasis on actually tithing ten percent of your income should be what is being preached.

A Servants of the Word Tribute

I've departed from the ranks of the Servants of the Word, and I wanted to give a fitting farewell speech at the last event I attended. But it never materialized. So, I've written my thoughts and thanks down and decided they would make a good post.

• Thank you, Don DeSmith. You taught me how to water ski. I’m sure I taught you some patients in the process (let’s face it, I started pretty bad) but I thank you for teaching me to persevere and not give up at something, even when I’m bad at it.

• Thank you Brian Laba, for teaching me the finer points of life: ultimate Frisbee, flora and fauna, and how to lead in UCO. The most beneficial experience was seeing you lead by example.

• Thank you Stu Ferguson, for teaching me even though I’m Catholic, I’ll still get to heaven, even if it’s just barely, and being a Christian doesn’t mean being a candy ass.

• Thank you Gary Sacharski, for being brutally honest with me during men’s group, and basically every other time we talked.

• Thank you Steve Clark, for telling me to leave Pittsburgh in the first place. I would have missed out on something special if I didn’t leave.

• To my lounge brothers: Toufic, Luis, and Michi. Thank you! You were real inspirations for me and you always could make me laugh. May the Lord continue to bless you as you move forward in your calls.

• Thank you Dan Keating and Ted Kennedy for showing me the blessings of living life as a man of prayer and order. I have grown a lot in these areas (especially order) because of the example you’ve given me.

• Thank you Joseph Mathias, for being a great roommate. We prayed together, drank together, and were rebuked together. What more could you ask for in a brother in the Lord?

• Finally, thank you Nico Angleys. You’ve been a great mentor and friend over the past years. You were my main influence for my decision to become an affiliate. May the Lord bless you as much as you have been a blessing to me.

It was a special time for me. I'll never forget it!

Getting Distracted?

I think it's really easy to blog about the news. It's always changing, there's always something happening, and there's always the next big thing. Think about this: did you wake up and say, "wow the oil in the gulf has stopped!" Maybe. It was more likely than, "the United States is at war right now." No one really remembers until an article comes out and a general doesn't speak too well of the Commander-in-Chief. (How may people knew General McCrystal was in charge of Afghanistan? Tell the truth!) Or did you wake up and say, "Mel Gibson wanted to burn his girlfriend's house down." Mr. Gibson's meltdown is like watching an episode of America's Wildest Police Chases, but in the long term, that's not going to matter. Afghanistan still should matter, until Lindsey Lohan goes or gets out of jail. Then we'll be moving on yet again.

But what would be a really tough blog. Ferrets. There's this movie PBS created devoted to the topic. But how could people actually live like that?

I stand corrected.


People have the desire in today's day and age to want to distract and remove all hardship and pain. But I've found the times where I learned the most were the times when I got through a hardship. I'd imagine it's the same for you. So let's not get distracted by things like Mel Gibson, Justin Beiber, ferrets, and LeBron James leaving to go to Miami. Let's remember there's still real things happening which require our attention.

It's easy to pick on the Christians

Have you ever noticed Christians are usually the easiest targets to attack? Think about it. You have nothing to lose when going after a Christian. Sure they could do physical harm to you if provoked, but then they would be hypocrites of their faith. The provoker would simply throw Scripture right back at the Christian. "What happened to 'do unto others' or 'turn the other cheek?'" Oh yeah, I could hear it now.

But the same people who would attack Christians are usually the first ones to say, "We need tolerance for the Muslim faith. It's our fault they attack us." What? Why? Christians often get provoked, but you don't see it as a terrorist cell or an ideology which wants to wipe Islam off the map.

Why won't the people attacking Christianity attack Islam? Is it because you might get a suicide bomber at your front door? Is it because people fear what happened to Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard when he is attacked for drawing a picture of Muhammad? Is it because Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh is killed for creating a film on Islam?

Christians though have been standing up to Islam, and getting martyred for it. Instead of fearing them, they try to live peacefully. When they are martyred, they make the ultimate sacrifice for their faith and for the Kingdom of the Lord. They are not hiding behind anything. They are standing up more than anyone. So go ahead and mock and ridicule Christians. It's the easy way out. But dying for your beliefs and standing in times of trial is something most people aren't willing to stomach anymore. Here's to the Christian martyrs, who are some of the most courageous people on the planet.

It’s Official: I’m getting old

It’s 2010 and I hit a new milestone for my life: 26. I am officially be closer to 30 than 20. I know 30 is the new 20, according to Jay-Z. But to me it seems a bit ridiculous. 30 is still 30. I guess he could be referring to the fact that adulthood seems to be delayed more and more in the developed world. It’s like being able to now keep your parent’s health insurance coverage until 26. So you can smoke, vote, and join the armed forces at 18. You can drink at 21. But please, citizens of the United States, don’t actually try to provide for yourself until the age of 26? Something seems a bit skewed. Jay-Z is probably also saying this so he can keep releasing albums, even though he’s 40. Doesn’t one need to move past money, clothes, and (insert a derogative term for the next word) women at some point. I was a fan of Jay’s back in ’03. He “retired,” which I thought was the right move. Your past the youthfulness required to rap. Good decision. Then he released three more albums. Bad call.

In my mind, I’ve been an adult for the last eight years. But this leads me to my new decisions: I cannot shop at Aeropostle, Abercrombie and Fitch, and--even one of my favorite--American Eagle (A/AF/AE) anymore. On a recent trip to try to find new shoes and to rid myself of the same shorts I’ve had since my freshman year of college, I came across a new observation. I’m looking at the posters of models which advertise A/AF/AE clothing. I notice they look nothing like me. In fact, they look nothing like my peers, either. In greater fact, they look like they have a lot more in common with the students in my high school youth group than any of my friends.

And so it dawns on me. I have reached the age where I am moving on from my own stage of life of an extended adolescence and I have to start making my own adult decisions. I can’t shop where kids go with their mothers, and if I am going to a store where this occurs I stay out of that section. It might be time to look into opening a Roth IRA, and invest in a 401k. Do I need life insurance? Is it time to start dressing in snappy casual more often? Do I need to go to more dinner parties? Eh, I’ll save that for later. I think a rerun of Jersey Shore is coming on MTV.

Without Facebook, No One Remembers Your Birthday

Today is my birthday. I guess you could say this blog is my gift to myself. I have to try to keep writing. I went to school for it, for crying out loud.

But with it being my birthday, I reminisced about the things which happened over the years and all the good birthdays, and even the bad one (19th). But what really is noticeable is your birthday on Facebook. All of a sudden, people you haven't talked to since elementary school are saying happy birthday. You really are in awe that this many people took 20 seconds out of their busy day to wish you a happy birthday. Isn't it awesome?

But then, you have to ask yourself what life is really like without the benefit of a social networking site which stores everything for you. Do you really know your friend's birthday if they came up to you and asked you, "hey what's my birthdate?" No. In fact, here's a list of who's birthdays I do know: mom's; dad's; younger brother; youngest brother; grandfather's on my dad's side (day after my dad's); grandfather on my mom's side (Christmas); my three housemates' who were with with me my first year after college; first girlfriend's; and that's about it. Pathetic, I know.

But with the addition of technology making our lives better in so many ways, it has also allowed us to become more lazy than we could ever imagine. I mean, how many phone numbers do you know by heart anymore besides your own. I do not know my mom's cell phone number, nor my two brothers. If my phone goes down, it's over. I don't even have the benefit of a SIM card. So I'm really screwed.

Here are some other skills which have become diminished since technology has advanced: spelling; grammar (which I misspelled the first time I typed it); remembering where you parked your car (just hit the button until your trunk pops); math; balancing your checkbook (with internet banking, it's all there); and changing CDs while driving a stick and talking on your cell phone during rush hour (okay, I made the last one up).

So, curse you, technology. You have brought about laziness and forgetfulness among my friends and the people who I can barely remember. Curse you, for making me use a calculator to add. And especially, curse you, Facebook. Because I'm not drawn to your soul-taking qualities and abilities to stalk people and peer in on their photos of them probably doing things their parents would not like, I'm am left with only a handful of happy birthdays from people who I know actually do care enough about me to know my actual birthdate. Thank goodness I can vent because of this blog.